subject: Heartburn And Cancer - What Can Be Done To Prevent Them [print this page] Many of us accept occasional heartburn as a kind of punishment for the rich life: big, rich meals, full of grease and spices, and frequent consumption of alcohol, tobacco and caffeine. But sooner or later these "habits" will take a toll on us as we will find themselves up all night dealing with heartburn troubles that may extend in to our workday. To find relief we try a wide variety of medicine to solve the problem. The more severe the pain, the stronger the medicine that needs to be taken. It's much easier than seeing a doctor.
Acid reflux, in most cases, causes heartburn. The food and stomach acid do not stay in the stomach but back up to esophagus and all the way to throat, where they create that burning feeling.
In most individuals, all it takes is a few antacids to stop their pain and their heartburn never goes beyond that. But for others if stomach acid continues to be a problem it will cause the tissues inside the esophagus to degrade and bleed which would end up causing scarring of the muscle that closes the esophagus which would then make it painful to swallow. At first, acid causes painful inflammation of the esophagus, but in time the cells of esophagus start changing into stomach cells, which are more resistant to acid, causing Barretts esophagus. The chance of developing esophageal cancer is 30 times more likely to happen in a person suffering with Barrett's esophagus.
Problems related to heartburn, acid reflux and the esophagus are on the rise, doubling in seven years, according to the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. It's estimated that this year over 16,000 people in the U.S. will be told they have cancer of the esophagus. This is more than a 600 percent increase.
Detecting cancer of esophagus is easy once people suffering from frequent severe heartburn actually contact their doctor. Seeing changes in the esophagus is done by a small camera inserted into the esophagus called a endoscopy and then taking a sample of the esophagus and performing a biopsy. If the changes indicate Barretts esophagus, doctors suggest regular, once a year screening for pre-cancerous cells. Treatment should start immediately for anyone diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus.
For indivduals who have been diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus, there is hope. Several new ways to tackle the disease are being performed and since esophageal cancer spreads slowly there is a better chance of beating this affliction. Previously, the only way to overcome cancer of the esophagus was to remove the esophagus and replace it with the colon. The treatment is a two step process. First off, cancerous cell must be removed from the layer of the esophagus. Then precanceruous and cancerous cells get melted away by a burst of RF energy coming from a device called Barrx. Combined with strict control of stomach acidity, this technique shows great promise and 90 percents of positive results.
Your heartburn is more than likely contained with an over-the-counter medication or antacid. But it's still necessary to see your doctor to get a examination just to be safe. The issues involving heartburn and cancer can be treated with the proper tools and knowledge.
